Vacuum transport belts

A method of making a media vacuum transport member comprising:

• providing a substrate, the substrate comprising a plurality of holes extending from a first side of the substrate to a second side of the substrate, the substrate comprising a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalene (PEN), polysulfone (PS), polyimide (PI), polyamideimide (PAI), and polyetherimide (PEI);
• providing a dispersion comprising a plurality of hollow micro spherical particles, a plurality of electrically conductive fillers, a resin, and a solvent, the electrically conductive fillers being chosen from carbon black, graphene, carbon nanotubes or metal particles, the resin being selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate, polyester and polyarylate, the hollow micro spherical particles having a diameter ranging from about 15 μm to about 100 μm;
• applying the dispersion over the second side of the substrate to form a coated substrate;
• heating the coated substrate to form a top coat layer over the second side of the substrate, wherein the top coat layer provides an average surface roughness Ra of about 8 μm to about 100 μm, the hollow micro spherical particles being dispersed throughout substantially the entire thickness of the top coat layer.

A method of transporting media comprising:

• providing one or more transport members configured to rotate around a vacuum plenum, wherein at least one of the one or more transport members comprises:
• a substrate, the substrate comprising a plurality of holes extending from a first side proximate to the vacuum plenum to a second side proximate to the media, the substrate comprising a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalene (PEN), polysulfone (PS), polyimide (PI), polyamideimide (PAI), and polyetherimide (PEI);
• and
• a top coat layer disposed over the substrate, wherein the top coat layer comprises a plurality of hollow micro spherical particles dispersed in a resin selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate, polyester and polyarylate, the hollow micro spherical particles having a diameter ranging from about 15 μm to about 100 μm to provide an average surface roughness Ra of about 8 μm to about 100 μm, wherein the top coat layer further comprises electrically conductive fillers chosen from carbon black, graphene, carbon nanotubes or metal particles, the hollow micro spherical particles being dispersed throughout substantially the entire thickness of the top coat layer;
• disposing the media over the top coat layer of the one or more transport members;
• holding onto the media by applying vacuum through the holes of the substrate to generate a suction force, wherein the textured surface having an average roughness Ra of about 8 μm to about 100 μm distributes the suction force substantially uniformly between the textured surface and the media;
• and
• transporting the media by rotating the one or more transport members around the vacuum plenum.